This is a translation done by my friend Dr. Türker Savaş to Turkish and by me to English. It is not changed in any way to have a fluent English, to prevent any loss of contend and is in a rough text.I have always found most pigeon books to be misleading and sometimes just full of wrong information when it comes to the breeds of Eastern World. So, I wanted to open this book (since it is considered to be one of the most through of them all) to critique. As I receive educated comments on each section, they will be posted. Since I am most interested in Turkish breeds and how they are represented, I will continue to do this on all books written on our breeds. Purpose is to insure that the future writers will stick to the facts and write about things they know first hand not what they hear or create in their own minds to make up for lack of knowledge.

GRUPPE IX TUMMLERTAUBEN: In recent years we have had some tumbler and roller breeds from Turkey come in (Germany). We can separate these by their talents as highfliers, divers, tumblers and rollers. It is not possible to separate some of these breeds based on their looks, especially the divers (Kurt: I am going to strongly disagree with this statement. Anyone who has seen a dönek, a kelebek and a Adana dewlap in life or in a picture will also do). Out side of Turkey, these birds are also raised in Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (Kurt: breeds kept in these countries can not be accepted as the same breed based on the breed names used to describe them. Most of the time the same name is used for different breeds). They are all named based on the area they came from but, we must look at Turkey for their origins.

Döneks: They are mainly raised in Turkey. These strong built birds can be seen in almost all colors but, mostly in pied and baldhead patterns. Tail is in general larger than normal and comes with more than 12 feathers. Döneks gain altitude quickly and never fly in a group (Dr. T.S: In reality, this is how Kelebeks behave. As long as the dropper is not shown döneks fly together.) Their attention is pulled down by wing flopping of another bird. They immediately dive with a high speed. In the mean time, mainly to their left side, they spin as the wing tip is the center point. (Dr. T.S: There are many types of spins but, the goal is to get corner of the tail and the tip of the wing together as the center point of the turn in an as tight as possible, fast spin while the wings slightly open . The most desired is the dive with a steady -very difficult- speed and the wings open in a larger degree, almost like a plate.) The ones that can turn to the right and to the left are the most valuable. They do not come with crests and besides the common clean leg types it is possible to find groused types also, and in reality they are the same breed as the Macedonian divers. (Dr. T.S: It is very difficult to say they are same breed since, they have been isolated for many decades and have gone through different selection process. However, in no certainty, their origins might be from one breed. In fact, I believe, kelebeks also come from same origin but, certainly a different breed. As far as I know, the Macedonians have feathered legs almost as much as the kelebeks and are larger in size. In the past it was not possible to see a dönek with feathered legs in Turkey but, in last few years there have been imports from Macedonia and mixed with our döneks.)(Kurt: Macedonian and Turkish Döneks are seperate breeds. Keeper of one never keeps the other. One is not necessarly better then the other but they behave and perform in a completely different way)

Double Crested Turkish Tumbler: Even Darwin had named this bird as the "Smyrnian (The city of Izmir in the Aegean coast of southern Turkey) Double Crested Tumbler" They come in varieties of clean legged, groused and muffed legs. They are relatives to Asian Clap Tumbler (Kurt: Using the terminology Asian Clap Tumbler shows total lack of knowledge in Eastern European and Asian performance breeds. After so many years of people from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Russia and Central Asia saying "we use this terminology to describe a group of tumblers that consists of dozens and dozens of breeds from all of these countries that make a loud clapping sound before tumbling. It is not a name for a specific breed.", our Western counterparts translate it as the name for a breed. One more time, it is not a breed. It is a descriptive terminology.) This breed is wide spread in Iran and Russia as much as in Turkey. (Kurt: They are different breeds) In fact the Sabuni tumbler of Syria is also a distance relative of this family (Kurt: In reality sabuni is not a breed but a color. So, you can have a sabuni in may different breeds.) These birds clap their wings so hard during the flight sometimes, wounds appear on their wings. (Kurt: Wounds on the wings are a major fault in any Turkish tumbler breed) They sometimes even can't fly because of this. They also tumble during these clapping. This breed exists throughout Asia and Middle East. (Kurt: Different breeds) There are also many varieties of this breed has entered Germany. (Kurt: There are many tumbler breeds in Turkey that come double crested and this never qualifies as a separate breed by it self. I don't know when Darwin had visited Turkey but, any time a westerner names something as Smyrnian it merely means that it was imported to their country from this major sea port sometime in the history. Bottom line is there is no such breed. Double crested muffed tumblers are basicaly Takla, in other words Turkihs tumbler. The double crested and clean-legged or groused breeds are not tumblers and other breeds)

Takla "Clap Tumblers": They are built very similar to other Asiatic clap tumblers. They are a mid size breed with a mid size beak, light eye coloration and muffed or semi-clean legs. (Kurt: Birds with semi-clen legs are a different breed) Rose decoration of the head is found and comes in all colors. Old birds tumble while clapping. They tumble so much that they can't fly high (Kurt: please read the Turkish Tumblers articles on this site to get a better idea on thsi breed). Younger birds tumble less and therefore rise to higher levels (Kurt: Not true). In the mean time they extend their legs like they are landing. (Dr. T.S: the medium size beaks leads me to believe, he is talking about Musul (Syria) birds.)(Kurt: I have no idea what bird he is talking about. It sounds like he is trying to talk about the tumble climb combination by saying that the legs extend like they are landing but, this could be a limited information on any of the dozen breeds that just comes to my mind. Also, what is this about the old bird not being able to fly as high as the young birds because of tumbling? Major contradiction. Any climbing tumbler that does the leg extension gets to higher altitudes as they get older and experienced and fly much longer)

Urfa & Filibe Clap Tumblers: Medium height and muffed birds. Crests and rose absent in both breeds. These breeds have almost no differences from each other. (Kurt: Two completely different breeds and huge differences from each other. Urfa is a variety of Takla and Felibe is a roller with clean leggs)(Aydın Atagün: Felibe is a breed from the city of Proliv of Bulgaria. They come with a head crest extending from one cheek to another and it is a roller breed not a tumbler. Bottom line it has no resembles of any breed from Urfa.)(K.D. Spurling: The fact of the matter is, there is no such city as Proliv in Bulgaria. On a side note, there is a Slavic word of "proliv". It means "strait" in Russian, like as in the waterway between two lands. "Proliv" is a corruption of the city of Plovdiv as the word "proliv" (Russian) and the word "Plovdiv" are not pronounced so differently and a Bulgarian's dialect could easily corrupt the spelling for an outsider. Incidentally, Plovdiv is the second largest city in Bulgaria and was also awarded the distinction as being the "Cultural Capital of Europe" for 1999. In any event, Plovdiv is located on the banks of the River Maritza in the South Central portion of the country. Now to go further - Plovdiv is a very old city of 6000 to 8000 years of age. Over time it has carried many names, including Kendros, Eumolpia, Philippopolis, Pulpudeva, Thrimonzium, Pulden, Populdin, Ploudin and finally, Felibe. In any event, Plovdiv has both Thracian and Byzantine roots in its history. During its time!, it has been under Roman, Byzantine, Thracian and also even under Turkish Ottoman rule. So for example, in 1365 it was conquered by you Turks and given the name Felibe. That is the source of the name in question, so we have a Bulgarian city with a Turkish name in its past - but, your contact describes a shell crested rolling breed under this name of Felibe in Bulgaria and this breed is NOT present in Plovdiv. The only local breed in the town are what are known as Ploviski Belski (Whites of Plovdiv) and also better known as the Pzardshik or Pozarek. Pzardshik are a white tumbler breed that is clean legged and minus a crest. They are typically rolling performers, but many bloodlines perform little and concentrate on endurance of flight. Now, on your site, you carry a photo of a White Thrace Roller. It is minus a crest and drags its wings somewhat. This bird is VERY similar to a Pzardshik and keep in mind Plovdiv's importance to the Thracians as a fortress. BUT - there is no crested bird in the city and I think he is really talking about Razgrad Tumblers which would be almost identical to crested Thrace Rollers. For me, what we are seeing in most Bulgarian breeds, especially in the southern portion, is a simple continuation of Turkish breeds which are bred to meet the Bulgars taste. The Thrace, the Bursa and also the Atlas have had large impacts on Bulgarian breeds and Bulgarian breeds are almost exclusively of a Turkish origin, where as in Romanian breeds, we see a nuance of Russian breeds (which descend from Turkish and Persian breeds) coming back together again with other Turkish breeds. So, your contact is on one hand correct and on one hand not correct. He picked out the right city, but the breed he was describing is the Razgrad or possibly some others. That is provided of course that there are no Shell Crested Pzardshiks in Plovdiv. I have NEVER heard of such a thing and I don't think it exists, but the genes were in the Thracian birds to make such a thing!P.S. - The description in the book itself of this Felibe doesn't match any breed from Plovdiv or nearby either. Neither the Pzardshik or the Razgrad are muffed and neither are "medium" flyers. In fact, they fly pretty god damn high and for long periods! In fact, the bird they describe could very well be conceived as something like a Takla (medium flying with muffs), although a damn vague description - BUT, there are no Takla like breeds in Bulgaria. The influence on Bulgarian breeds seems to stem mostly from Bursa, Doneks, Thrace and the Atlas or Gokela. The influence of the Takla group on Slavic breeds seems to have been strictly in the Stans region of Russia coming in through Armenia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Just above this area is where you will find the majority of all Boinije and Statnije breeds: the second generation from Takla.)

Konya Clap Tumblers: Small beaked and muffed. The rest of the characteristics are same as the other breeds in this group. (Kurt: I can see a lot of research was involved in writing this book. Performance is nothing like other tumblers but Antalya tumblers.)

Taklambaç: There is definitely some "Owl" blood in this breed. The beak length is either small or medium. They have tight feathering and in spite of their relation to Owls they do not have chest rose. All colors are present including black & white, black tailed and pied ones. They fly in mid heights and tumble less compared to other breeds. (Kurt: So let me get this right: If a breed has short or medium to short beak it has owl blood in it! We can say this because we truly understand the origins of these breeds. Wow! I would say a writer needs to be more carefull providing information to his/her readers.)

Bango Flight Pigeons: Being relative to the previous breed (Kurt: Not), this breed is very popular in İstanbul. Their origin is between the tumblers and the owls (Turbits?). They fly high and have a very good sense of location. All colors and markings present. Some comes with the rose on the chest. They are also raised to fly with the rollers. They fly in a very tight group and gain altitude rapidly. This way they get the rollers higher and motivate them. After a certain height they also start tumbling. Some times they are raised just as a highflying breed. (Dr. T.S: I don't know where he got all this information but, today in Istanbul, the bird known as Bango besides the body description has nothing to do with what he is saying. In reality Bongo is the Turkish word for Owl. I have never seen one tumble and never heard from any body that they do. It is true that the old breed was a flying kind but since they are raised only for their looks they are not flown. Color is secondary in importance. The most important feature is the shape of the head. Eyes have to in a way pop out as much as possible from the head. Beak has to be as small as possible. Head has to be big and square. The birds that carry these qualities demand big bucks.)

Kelebek: It has been seen in Germany in last few years. An Interesting breed. The name Kelebek comes from the style of this breed's flight. (Kurt: Kelebek in Turkish means "Butterfly" and the reason for this description is the way this breed behaves if flown as a group as the writer describes later) It is a roughly built, long bird with a long beak. They carry short leg featherings. Wings consists of 14 to 18 flights and carried above the tail. Pied colored birds come with light eye colors. At times they can have half of the eye in black color. Dark eye color is found in the bold head pattern birds. Physically is similar to Macedonian divers. Kelebeks perform every trick done by all diving breeds but, with ease and in a longer performance full of flight. In fact some even add a few tumbles to their performance. Their main quality is that they fly alone. When flown together, they fly like swarm of bees in the air. In Turkey, their flight is compared to bats and said to use a lot of energy during the flight. The wing tips have a circular shape. Third from the last flight is always longer than the second from the last flight. The length of flight depending on the training extends from half an hour to two hours. Flight altitude change between medium to a dot on the sky. Kelebeks perform spins as they dive just like some of the other diving breeds. In the mean time they make sudden turns or change of directions. For landing the breeder shows a dropper and the kelebeks start their dive with a rough drop. Even though the flight sport is very important to the Turkish fanciers, last few years importance have been given to certain color birds. Because of this, clean colored birds demand higher values. Most popular marking is the ones with a small coloring like a mustache on the sides of the beak together with colored tails. Besides this the colored necks and the special tiger markings are other popular colors. This breed is mainly raised in Balıkersir region of Turkey.

Mülakat Roller: It is common to see white tails in this mostly blue breed. It is said that they were frequently mixed with wild rock pigeons to increase their flight skills. Roughly build, clean legged and no head ornaments but it is said to be an exceptional roller. (Dr. T.S: As I know even where it is mainly bred like Istanbul and Bursa, it is very hard find this breed today.)

Çakal Roller: They are very similar to mülakat as far as their looks. However, they are mainly red color with white tail and flights markings. (Dr.T.S: As far as the looks, they are more similar to Bursa rollers than Mülakat. Mülakat is a lower, I mean a shorter legged breed and because of it look rather long but both Çakal and Bursa come with long legs.) Tail consists of 14 feathers. This breed has been raised for very long time. They fly very high and some fly up to 10 hrs. (Dr.T.S: It might have been a flying bird long time ago but, today it is a rarely seen breed and mostly raised for it's color and looks. One of my friends from Çorlu -Tayyar Başaran- tried to bring a standard to this breed for long time but it is just not a very popular breed. Breeding selection based on the color and the shape resulted in loss of flight and performance abilities. They almost never fly.) Even thought they fly for a long time they are a temperamental breed. During flight some start rolling and at the end start flying very fast to catch-up to the rest of the group. Head of Çakal is close to long and in the mean time it has a long beak. Carrying their wings above the tail this breed is clean legged and with out any head ornaments. They are said to be known for over 100 years in Turkey.

Bursa Tumbler: They are mostly found in black, dark blue and blue bar colors. Tail must be white. (Dr.T.S: Bursa I know comes only in black with white tail and flights. Blues are Mülakat rollers.) Tail consists of 14 feathers. Wings carried on top of the tail. Flights can be colored or white. They fly in a slow (calm) manner. (Dr.T.S: Actually, they fly very fast and a very timid breed.)(Aydın Atagün: Bursa must fly very fast and rough and it will never kit. If flown in a group of 8-10, they will all fly separately and cut each other off.) They fly in groups. As they fly in these groups, they perform single tumbles and try to catch-up to the group. This breed is known to exist for over 100 years in Turkey. Their sense of direction is much better than the Kelebeks. (Aydın Atagün: They will find their home from 45 to 50 kilometers away.) After the age of one, they start to show their flight abilities. This breed has been a show breed in Germany for many years but only black with white tail and flights exists here. (Kurt: That is because it is the only color for this breed.)(Aydın Atagün: The local name for Bursa roller is "Oynak". They were bred during the Ottoman Empire times. Only 12 tail feathers are acceptable in this breed and birds with more are considered to be worthless. There are some terminologies used for this bird has been clasified as different breeds by the author; If Bursa -which only comes in black- has white flights and tail it is called "Karabaş", if there is a white marking under the beak it is called -depending on the size of the mark from small to large- "Noktalı", "Muskalı" or "Yaşmaklı". If this mark lines up with eyes and extends to the back of the head in a horizontal line is it called "Sürmeli" or "Çekmeli". If the white mark attaches both eyes, it is called "Kilitli". If the bird has only white tail it is called "Karakanat". If the white head marking is on the forehead, it is called "Abras". Finally, if Bursa has the bald head marking it is called "Akman")

Safkan Roller: A medium size bird. It is thought that this breed is from a cross of Smyrna and Bulgarian rollers. Their body shape is very similar Birminghams. They are light color eyed, clean legged and have no head ornaments. This breed is mainly found in a reddish yellow color and said to be raised widely in Albania also. In fact if their origin is Turkey or Albania is not known. They carry their wings on top of a tail that consists of 14 feathers. Few spots on its neck are considered to be the sign for it to be a Safkan roller. Male bird is attached to its mate very much in this breed. He must see the female at all times during flight. Other vise it may not come back. For example it is said that the male bird keeps coming back to it's original owner from 7-8 kilometers but, when the female is also sold to the new owner it gets used to the new loft. These birds fly very high and are very good rollers. Their flight style is more calmer compared to other Turkish breeds. With good training they can fly up to 6-7 hours. This breed also is being raised here. (Kurt: Safkan means pure breed in Turkish, not a breed name. It is very difficult to tell which roller breed the author is talking about here.)

Cesaria Roller: According to Dahl (1950), these birds' origin is Skutari by strait of Istanbul. They are muffed with no head ornaments and have a long and down ward curved beak. Their flight style is similar to the Oriental roller. (Dr. T.S: The place described and the breed does not exist. There are Polish tumblers and also Polish immigrants live in the northern İstanbul area called Polanezköy. Also the name Skutair or Skiptari in the past was used for Albanians and Arnavutköy, where Albanian immigrants live on the strait.)

Smyrnean Roller: It is known as the ancestor of all wide tailed and dropped winged rollers. In our knowledge this breed only is bred in Yugoslavia today. Last few years we also had a few pair come to Germany. Fanciers of this breed, claim the rest of the roller breeds are crossbred, mixed, deteriorated and can not be classed as a real breed. The real Smyrnean rollers, compared to Oriental rollers, have a longer beak, puffy and more feathered tail and since they have a longer body look to be skinnier. Tail can have between 14 to 22 feathers. They can carry all possible colors. Especially, black, white, yellow, blue and pied pattern. They are clean legged and have no head ornaments. Different than Oriental rollers the black birds also have black beaks. Mainly light colored eyes but, ones that carry white on the head come with black eyes. However, light eye coloring is preferred. They also have some features auto sexed. (Dr.T.S: I am very suspicious of this breed's existence. I have heard the name for a while now but, only out of Germany.)(Kurt: Smyrna is the ancient name for the city of İzmir and it is a major seaport. There are many things have been imported to Europe out of Turkey from this port and many is named Smyrnean. This breed can be the origin of one of the many breeds in Turkey. Who knows? I have send messages to several friends in Turkey recently to search for it and have not heard one answer yet.)

Atman Roller: This breed is also called Turkish roller and it is larger than the Oriental roller. The beak is long and curved downward. Eyes light colored. Wings are raised and carried under the wide tail. Main color is black and the neck is extremely shiny. Wings are white or pied color. Big possibility, it is closely related to Bulgarian Akman and pied breeds. It is a very valuable highflying breed in Bulgaria.

Seldschuken Tumbler: It is originated from the city of Konya. They used to be raised in the palaces of the Seljuk Sultans. Even after the Seljuks they have been raised by a few families. They are never sold or given as a gift. Because of this, even today it is a very little known or seen breed. One pair in 1982 was seen in Nuremberg show another 1991 Stuttgart. These small birds (Kurt: Small ???????) have a cornered head and the corners curved. Beak is mid sized pointy and light color with a dark tip. Eyes are yellowish light color. Short and thick neck directly attached to the wide and thick chest. Wings are made out of 20 flights and carried either on the side or below the "V" shaped tail. Legs are short and feathered but toes featherless. Their color is barless light blue. Flights are a darker color. They are strictly show birds. (Kurt: Please read the Selçuklu Tumbler article in this site for detailed info on this breed.)

Oynak: Another old breed from this city (Konya). This breed has not been selected for a specific flight style. For this reason, it is possible to see any performance style in this breed high flying, tumbling or rolling. This mid size bird is similar to wild rock pigeon in looks. They are very faithful to their loft and almost impossible to get used to another. In Turkey they are used for speed homing races from 50 kilometers distance. They don't have any head ornaments but come in every color. They also exist in Germany. They fly for long time in high altitudes. Forked tail is not considered a fault. (Kurt: Description is fair for this breed but just to remember there are two different breeds with this name in Turkey. The other one is very similar to Dolapcı and is kept in the cities of Burdur and Isparta.)

Mardin Tumbler: During flight these birds clap their wings hard and create sounds and tumble in the mean time. (Kurt: I am shocked, it is not called a clap tumbler:) They can hang (glide) in the air like the predator birds. (Kurt: This is considered a major fault in performance and the bird labeled "Yoz" literally in English "wild rock pigeon".) This mid size bird carries the wings above the tail and come with plain or rosed head. (Kurt: Never with a rosed head. Presence of rose is a very good indication of a tumbler from another city or a mixed bird.) Legs are half clean or slightly muffed. (Kurt: If half clean legged, it is a different breed. Always muffed covering the toes but, not too long.) They are related to taklas and show very similar flight style. (Kurt: We should say they are a variety of Takla.) However, they fly a little higher. They are a larger bird and come in all colors. (Kurt: They come only in colors of all shades of blue bar and checks, smokey and black selfs. Other colors are tumblers from other cities or mixed birds.) They have been raised in Germany for many years.

GRUPPE X SPIELFLUGTAUBEN:

Anatolian Circle beater : This breed has come to Germany in 1981. Their origin is in the region of the city of Trabzon in Turkey. On the coast of Trabzon to inland to Kelkit, Erzincan and Erzurum. They are mainly raised in the live stock stall of the villages for many years. In the cities they are raised in the attics. City fanciers seem to have a better understanding of the breed. As they are called "crested wing clapper" in Turkish also raised based on this description. They are a field pigeon size and shape birds and carry a round crest in the back of the head. Their stance is mid height and parallel to the ground. Head is longer and ends in a round curve with a round crest that extends to the neck and on each end has a visible rose twist. Eyes are yellow or light color and black in white birds. Birds from Trabzon and Kelkit mainly have yellow eyes and the one s from Erzincan light color eyes. Eye ring is not very obvious and blended in to the bird's color. In the same way the beak also is colored similar to the bird's color. Neck is mid length and chest is wide and full. Wings are mid sized and carried on top of the tail. Outer flights can be worn out from clapping. Legs are mid sized and clean legged. Feathers are tight and flexible, and the end in a wide shape. Colors in solids are black, white, red, yellow, rust or black barred mouse gray, rust barred blue. Colors in pied are white flights and a white chest marking and the rest of the color solid. Markings in this breed are not important. What is important is that they show a lively character while clapping and turning. From pairings of white and other solid colors, similar to "spielderke" color, babies come out, with out the white heart on the back. Breeding goal is to protect the clapping turning flight style while keeping the breed pure.

Kumru: Turkish version of the Arabic Trumpeter, that comes from central Anatolia. Black and white, small and decorated birds. They are considered to be very aggressive and even when baby the breeders train them by sticking their hands into the nest. Besides this, they are fairly calm. Breeders take these birds in pairs to coffee shops. Here two hens and two cocks put on top of a table. Birds immediately go after each other and start fighting but with out any wounds. The bird that gives up shows this by shaking its wings. Another version of the pigeon fight is a cardboard box being placed on top of a wood beam on the air that is supported by two chair backs, one on each end. As soon as the firs pair put into the box, they claim it as their nest. After this the first pair is removed and the second pair put into same box for them to claim it also. When this happens the first pair is put back into the box next to the other. With this the fight starts. Because of this fighting orient there is only one pair of birds kept in each coop. These birds sit just like the Arabian Trumpeters and it is said that even you can hear even the babies' in the nest singing.

Turkish Dewlap: They are similar to Syrian dewlaps as far as the body structure. However, compared to Syrian dewlaps they come in many more different colors. Specially self colors like black, dark blue, blue check, ash red bar, smokey and indigo. Besides these there are following color combinations: Main color being silver or gray silver, dark color wing and tail marking. Head color darker color than the rest of the body. Silver neck. These come in all dark or light colors. It is common to see birds in Turkey with white beard, white tail, white saddled or white barred black birds. These birds, even though are not different than the Syrian dewlaps as far as their body shape, are known as Lubenon (Lebenon) world wide.

Adana or Earringed Dewlap: They are from the city of Adana in Turkey and were brought to Germany by the Turkish workers in this country. Even though they are very similar to Beirut Dewlaps, they are smaller, lighter and primarily used for the flight sport. When flown they gain altitude slowly in circles. They are capable of going as high as becoming dot in the sky but, this is not liked by the breeders. Since each bird reacts to the dropper from a certain height. Breeders use a flag to keep their birds flying. When a dropper is shown, they land with an extremely high speed dive. Spiral dive lasts only a few seconds and ends with a spectacular sound while the birds break by opening their wings. This dive is an amazing show. These birds' upright dive and in the last moment how they stop with out slamming into the earth every time puzzles the breeders and their flight skills and art is not possible to understand. They are very smart and respond to their breeders signals right a way. These birds are dependent on their breeders individual attention. Turkish breeders spend all of their free time with their birds. Colors and markings are valued much but the birds flight and performance is the primary concern.

Turkish Pigeon: It is know as the father of all wattled breeds along with Persian Carrier. Spanish pigeon breed expert Brage says it is the oldest domesticated pigeon in the world and thinks it has originated in Middle East. Aldrovandi also mensions this bird in 1566. This bird has to be the first postal pigeon of the world. Attached to his home and anxious to fly. Of course, not as a long distance flier. In later years these birds came to Europe and got mixed with other breeds. In Germany at first they were raised as pure but, after a while they were mixed to get their beaks shorter. 1934 they established as an accepted breed. However, after the second WW, as they became extinct, no one heard of them. After the war they were discovered in Spain again. Yes, true, Turkish pigeon is still alive. In Spain they are known as "Paloma Turca". With 500g. body weight, these birds are rather large and heavy. Stand is parallel to ground. Neck extending forward and long. They resemble a strong tumbling breed. Legs are mid length and like the toes featherless. Beak is mid size and strong. This shape beak is characteristic to real Turkish pigeon. Beak , regardless of the color, is light color. Tip of the beak might carry a darker spot. Powdered nose is not developed much. Eyes reddish yellow and surrounded by about 6mm wide wattle. Most of these birds come without crest. Peak and head crest used to be accepted but, very rare. The ones exist in Spain today are clean headed. Black, red, yellow, white self colors and blue bar, check and white barred blacks are the main color of this breed. They are very good breeders.

Turkish Baghdad: It is very common to run in to this breed even today. They can be seen in almost every pigeon market in Turkey. They are very similar to Syrian Baghdad. They are a preserved version of the original Baghdads. Anatolian Bango: This breed came to England about 200 years ago from Middle East, especially Anatolia, from there to Germany some years later. They are considered to be the father of all saddle marked turbits. They have a short but likeable structure. Head as possible as round, full and fore headed, full cheeks and clean headed. Head is almost like part of the wide beak. Eyes are big and dark color, eye rim is light color, neck is short and stubby a little bent back. Chest wide and sticks out forward. Stomach has to be short and well developed. Short back with wider shoulders and leveled down to back. Short wings has to be very tightly closed. Legs short and clean. Only one marking is known, saddled with color tail. It is desired to have 8 to 10 flights white but possible to see colored flights also. Colors are black, gray, blue bar, blue check, silver blue, red, yellow, dominant red bar and brown. Red and yellow have been developed recently. In Anatolia, where it is still raised, there are other markings present. Such as white self, color tail, saddle but with white tail. Peak crest, tail carrying white in the middle or muffed versions of this breed exists in the east but are mixed breeds. In Germany self whites and colored tails were acceptable until 30's.

Aydın Bango: This breed is very close to being extinct. They are originated from Aydın which is to south of Izmir. They were clean legged, clean headed or sometimes peak crested. since the head was not completely round and the beak longer than most bangos, they lost their value in Europe quickly. This breed had a large chest rose and colored as saddled black tail, yellow, brown, or as barred silver blue and silver gray. Most likely it had other markings also. in 1900's Aydın bango could raise it is own young.

Domino Bango: It is a different marking type of Aydın bango. These ones also came to Europe from Aydın and are known to be here since 1890. They have been mixed with other bangos to better them, especially with Anatolian bango. Domino is larger than the Anatolian, short and cute birds. Head must be round and draw a continuous line with the beak. Forehead is wide and full. Clean head or peak crested. Large eyes orange color and the rim is skin color. Short and thick beak is light color in red and yellow birds and dark color in all other colors. Neck is short, thick and bent back a little. Chest is wide and sticks out with a clear line feather marking. Back is wide on the shoulder and levels down towards the rear. Wings are closed tight and carried above the tail. Short and clean legs. Head, saddle, tail colored and the rest of the bird is white. Color on the head goes down to the end of the neck and covers the crest. In the front the color ends at tip of the feather line. As much as possible 8 to 10 flights should be white. Colors are blue, black, red, yellow, blue bar, silver blue, silver red and silver yellow.

Oriental Bango or Izmir Bango: It is from Middle East. They are mostly imported from Izmir. They have been raised in Germany since about 1850. They were imported to England and Holland much earlier. They are small, short and low pigeons. Head is fairly large and round, wide and full forehead, and full cheeked. Space between the eyes must reach the nose with out interruption. Head is not circle or ellipse. It is with the forehead width present somewhere in between these two shapes. Because of this the highest point of the head is not above the eyes but in front of them. Eyes big and lively, orange in colored birds and dark in white birds. Side of the eyes low, strait and pale, neck short and stocky expends out of the shoulders. Throat and chest rose has to be well developed. Chest is wide and carried high. Short wings are tightly stuck to body. Legs covered with feathers until the toes. Feathering on the side of the leg is longer but not a long muff. This breeds coloring style is named in a different way.